How much will the Music City Bowl loss motivated the Boilermakers? Plus, who's the No. 2 quarterback and will the offensive and defensive lines find answers to key questions?

Story Highlights

Elijah Sindelar is the No. 1 QB but the battle is between Nick Sipe and Jack Plummer for No. 2

The offense brings back five receivers/tight ends who caught a combined 185 passes in 2018

Purdue generated 61 tackles for loss and 25 sacks last season

WEST LAFAYETTE – Purdue begins its third spring football practice Monday under coach Jeff Brohm.

Here are five storylines to track through the April 6 spring game:

BOWL GAME AFTERMATH

Have the Boilermakers properly flushed the 49-point loss to Auburn or are emotions still lingering in the aftermath? When the first practice starts, it will have been nearly two months since the whipping was administrated by the Tigers.

There’s a different feeling this offseason compared to the last one after Purdue beat Arizona to win the Foster Farms Bowl.

“Being beat that bad on a national stage, just being embarrassed like that, I think it hits home with a lot of guys and people are going to start working harder,” senior offensive lineman Matt McCann said.

“It wasn’t a good feeling walking off that field. Emotionally, it hurt getting beat that bad. It’s good to remember that happened to you because it will give you some motivation to work harder.”

Even the loss has remained with the coaching staff. Receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard made his group watch the film “multiple times” instead of just once. It got the attention of everybody associated with the program.

“You want to flush it and move on and we’ve tried to tell them to do that every play, let alone every game but you’re only as good as your last one and that was the last one,” Shephard said.

“I know for sure it’s motivating our coaches to find better ways of doing things, more innovated ways to do things and I feel like we’re pretty innovated but we’re pushing the envelope to find even more and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

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Quarterback Nick Sipe with a pass during Purdue football practice Monday, August 27, 2018, in West Lafayette.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier, )

WHO'S NO. 2?

For the first time, everyone knows the No. 1 quarterback. It’s Elijah Sindelar. It’s so obvious that Brohm told the one reporter in the room during the interview “you can figure that one out yourself.”

But who will emerge between Nick Sipe and Jack Plummer? That’s one key question facing the offense this spring.

Sipe has played but mostly in mop-up duty. Plummer hasn’t seen action, using last year as a redshirt season and running the scout team. Both know the offense, but Plummer is more gifted from a talent standpoint and probably has the edge.

LINE PLAY

This applies to both sides of the ball.

On offense, the Boilermakers have three spots to fill. McCann and Grant Hermanns are set at the tackle spots but finding a center and two guards – along with creating depth – is the top challenge for offensive line coach Dale Williams.

Meanwhile, Purdue must create a pass rush. Lorenzo Neal won’t participate in spring practice and the stout tackle is a key part of the defensive line. But several players need to take the next step in their development to allow this group to start winning the line of scrimmage battles.

Whether that comes in the form of an experienced player or a newcomer, it doesn’t matter.

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Offensive lineman Matt McCann blocks during scrimmage at Purdue football practice Friday, August 10, 2018, in West Lafayette.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier, )

RECEIVERS ON NOTICE

Other than Rondale Moore, the receiving group may look completely different when training camp starts.

It’s no secret the coaching staff is extremely high on the four incoming freshmen – David Bell, Milton Wright, T.J. Sheffield and Mershawn Rice – and they’re going to see the field in some capacity.

The pressure is on the receivers currently in the program – Jared Sparks, Jackson Anthrop, Amad Anderson, Jr., Kory Taylor, Jordan Bonner and others – to win a job now before the newcomers arrive.

The competition at this position when facing the defensive backs in one-on-one drills should be interesting to watch.

Brohm was thrown a curveball when tight end and special teams coordinator Mark Tommerdahl left for Texas Tech on Friday. It wasn’t a surprise since Tommerdahl had worked for Red Raiders head coach Matt Wells at Utah State in 2017.

But Purdue also welcomes a new cornerbacks coach – Greg Brown, who spent the last two seasons at Auburn and has nearly four decades of experience at the college and NFL levels. Brown will find a way to adapt and adjust because that’s what he’s done his entire career.

Brohm, though, now must look for Tommerdahl’s replacement. Maybe he promotes from within the program with either a graduate assistant or a quality control coach. He could wait until after spring practice to finish the search.

It’s not the ideal situation, especially with practice starting Monday, but the rest of the coaches have been together long enough to help pick up the slack and keep moving forward.